Portland will be making its fifth semifinal appearance in the last seven seasons. Portland lost 1-0 in the 1998 NCAA College Cup semifinals to North Carolina, a game decided in the final seconds of the fourth overtime period.
Vanessa Talbott recorded the game-winning goal as she put in a rebound from 25 yards out. Talbot also scored the lone goal in the Pilots 1-0 victory at Washington last week.
"I saw that the goalie had collided with one of our players and the ball came right to me. I guess I was just in the right place at the right time. I was able to chip it high enough to get the ball over the head of their last defender and have it drop into the net," stated Talbott.
The Pilots had the better of play for most of the first half, but Penn State almost took a lead into halftime. In the final seconds of the half, Nittany Lion forward Heidi Drummond (Littleton, Colo.) had her shot get behind Portland goalkeeper Cheryl Loveless only to be saved off the line by defender Erin Goodling.
In the second half, Penn State controlled the play, out-shooting the Pilots 8-3, but Loveless made several key saves to preserve the shutout.
"I thought it was a game of two halves," commented Portland coach Clive Charles. "We had the edge in the first and they put a lot of pressure on us in the second. In the overtime we continued to work hard and were rewarded with the goal. From the quarterfinals on, every game is like this. One little play, one bounce, a ball that hits the post is often the difference between winning and losing."
"I thought we did enough to score a goal or two," stated Penn State coach Patrick Farmer. "We played much better in the second half but their goalie did a good job and we were unlucky on some shots."
The Pilots (18-3) advance to their fifth College Cup to face the winner of UCLA-Clemson. The Nittany Lions (22-3-1) end their season after their third consecutive Big Ten championship, their second Big Ten tournament championship and a school record 22 wins.
Scoring Summary: 1 2 OT - Final
Portland (18-3) 0 0 1 - 1
#7 seed Penn State (22-3-1) 0 0 0 - 0
PORT: Vanessa Talbott (Unassisted) 100:58
Portland Penn State
Shots of Goal: 6 15
Corner Kicks: 4 11
Saves: Cheryl Loveless, 8 Emily Oleksiuk, 1
Defensive Saves: Erin Goodling none
Cautions: Kylee Barton, Y, 82:36 none
Weather: cold
Attendance: - 696
